Places to visit in Gandaki, Nepal
24 places to visit in Gandaki, Nepal, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: Gorkha Palace, Lo Manthang, Annapurna Sanctuary and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Gandaki volume.
2 Heritage sites · 5 Famous places to visit · 17 Hidden gems
Heritage sites in Gandaki (2)
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Gorkha Palace
A 16th century hilltop palace founded by Ram Shah, about an hour's climb above Gorkha bazaar. It was the seat of the Shah kings of Gorkha, from which Prithvi Narayan Shah set out to unite Nepal, and it is on Nepal's tentative UNESCO list.
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Lo Manthang
The walled capital of the old kingdom of Lo, at the northern end of Mustang close to the Tibetan border. Inside its mud-brick walls are a royal palace and centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in a dry, wind-carved landscape.
Famous places to visit in Gandaki (5)
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Annapurna Sanctuary
A high glacial basin 40 km north of Pokhara, above 4,000 metres and ringed by peaks mostly over 7,000 metres. The only way in is a narrow gorge between Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre, and in high summer the walls allow only seven hours of sun a day.
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Kali Gandaki Gorge
The gorge the Kali Gandaki has cut between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, by some measures one of the deepest in the world. The river runs through it from Mustang toward the south, with an 8,000 metre peak on either side.
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Manakamana Temple
A pagoda temple on a ridge in Gorkha District, dedicated to the goddess Bhagwati, whose name means the wish-fulfilling one. Founded in 1678, it is reached by a long cable car ride up from the Trishuli valley.
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Muktinath Temple
An ancient Vishnu temple at 3,800 metres in Mustang, at the foot of the Thorong La, and one of the highest temples in the world. Hindus revere it as an abode of Vishnu, Buddhists as a seat of Avalokiteshvara, and pilgrims bathe under its 108 water spouts.
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Tilicho Lake
A glacial lake at around 4,919 metres in Manang, beneath the walls of the Annapurna range and among the highest lakes of its size in the world. Its cold water had no recorded aquatic life as of 2003.
Hidden gems in Gandaki (17)
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Annapurna Conservation Area
Nepal's largest protected area, 7,629 square kilometres of the Annapurna range across five districts, rising from 790 metres to the 8,091 metre summit of Annapurna I. The Annapurna Circuit and the trail to the Annapurna Sanctuary both run through it.
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Begnas Lake
The second largest of Pokhara Valley's seven lakes, in its quieter southeast corner, ringed by terraced fields and fish farms. Its level rises and falls with the monsoon and is held by a small dam built in 1988 on the Khudi Khola.
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Bindhyabasini Temple
One of the oldest temples in Pokhara, on a small hill in the old town, dedicated to Bindhyabasini, a form of Durga. Stone stairways climb to a courtyard with shrines to Saraswati, Shiva, Hanuman and Ganesh, and on clear days views of the Annapurnas.
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Davis Falls
A waterfall in Pokhara where the outflow of Phewa Lake plunges straight into the ground and disappears. Its Nepali name, Patale Chhango, means the underworld's waterfall: the water runs through a tunnel some 30 metres below the surface.
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Devghat
A holy town where the Kali Gandaki and the Trishuli meet to form the Narayani, one of the great religious centres of central Nepal. Temples and ashrams line the banks, and many devotees come to spend their last years here.
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Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave
A cave shrine to Shiva across the road from Davis Falls in Pokhara. Steps lead down past a lingam to a damp chamber where the water of the falls can be seen thundering through the rock.
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International Mountain Museum
A museum in Pokhara given over to the world's mountains and the people who live among and climb them. Its halls cover the Himalaya's great peaks, the history of mountaineering and the cultures of the high valleys.
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Mahendra Cave
A large limestone cave at Batulechaur on the northern edge of Pokhara, near the Kali Khola. It is one of the few caves in Nepal with stalactites and stalagmites, and a statue of Shiva stands inside.
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Manaslu Conservation Area
A protected area in Gorkha District, set up in 1998 and covering 1,663 square kilometres of mountains, glaciers and rivers. It rises from 1,400 metres to the 8,156 metre summit of Manaslu, which the Manaslu Circuit trek loops around.
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Phewa Lake
The lake at the heart of Pokhara, about 5.7 square kilometres of water edged by Lakeside's cafés and boats. On still mornings it reflects Machhapuchhre and the Annapurna range, only about 28 km to the north.
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Poon Hill
A lookout above Ghorepani, on the border of Myagdi and Kaski, where trekkers climb before dawn for sunrise over the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges. Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I, Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre all stand in a single sweep.
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Rupa Lake
A long, shallow lake in the southeast of the Pokhara Valley, about 1.35 square kilometres and no more than 6 metres deep, lying north to south beside Begnas. It is the third largest of the valley's lakes, and far quieter than Phewa.
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Sarangkot
A ridge above Pokhara, once a village and now part of the city, where people gather before dawn to watch sunrise light Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Machhapuchhre. Paragliders launch from its slopes and drift down over Phewa Lake.
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Siddha Cave
A huge limestone cave above Bimalnagar in Tanahun, 50 metres high and 437 metres deep, said to be one of the largest in Nepal. Its chambers are big enough to hold around 2,500 people.
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Tal Barahi Temple
A small two-roofed temple to the goddess Barahi on an island in the middle of Phewa Lake, reached only by boat. It is the most important shrine in Pokhara, and crowds of devotees row out on Saturdays and festival days.
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Thorong La
A 5,416 metre mountain pass between Manang and Muktinath, the highest point on the Annapurna Circuit. Trekkers usually cross at first light, and local traders still use the route.
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World Peace Pagoda, Pokhara
A white Buddhist peace pagoda on Anadu Hill, high above the southern shore of Phewa Lake. The walk up through the forest ends in a view across the lake and Pokhara to the Annapurna range.
Collecting in Gandaki
What are the best places to visit in Gandaki?
LOQAH lists 24 places in Gandaki. The best known include Gorkha Palace, Lo Manthang, Annapurna Sanctuary, Kali Gandaki Gorge and Manakamana Temple. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Gandaki?
24, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Gandaki?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Gandaki before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Gandaki and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
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